Admit it: when Smash Bros 4 came out we all toyed with the idea of DLC characters but we never thought Nintendo would actually do it. That all changed when Mewtwo was revealed, and boy were people hyped! Not only did it confirm DLC characters were possible, it was obvious Nintendo wouldn’t stop there.
This was later confirmed with the reveal of Lucas and once the sound files were found for Ryu and Roy (the Fire Emblem one, not the most stylish Koopaling in the Mushroom Kingdom) fingers pointed directly at DLC bundle packs.
Needless to say we were right, but the latest DLC pack for Smash Bros 4 has much more than just three great characters. So here’s a breakdown of the whole Collection #2 pack – characters, costumes and more – to help you decide if it’s worth the extra coins.
Ryu
Neutral Special = Hadoken
Side Special = Tatsumaki Senpukyaku
Up Special = Shoryuken
Down Special = Focus Attack
Easily the biggest thing about the new DLC is the addition of Ryu to the Smash roster. This marks the first time the Street Fighter series has been part of Nintendo’s well-loved fighter, and who better to represent it than the game’s most iconic character?
Ryu is complex but really fun to play if you can get him down. Much like Street Fighter itself, all his attacks have weaker and stronger variants depending on how long you hold the button for. This gives him the most varied moveset in the game, allowing you to mix things up and keep opponents on their toes. Ryu’s all about combos, so get in fast and hard and chain together some crushing blows.
His special moves have different variations too. You can do the bog-standard ‘B + direction’ or you can put in the actual commands from Street Fighter to make them stronger. It’s a fantastic homage to Ryu’s origins, but it does make him tricky to use. Unfortunately it’s often necessary as the extra power makes for quicker kills, plus it does feel amazing when you get off a Shoryuken in this way.
Oh, and by the way, the Focus Attack is your best friend. Use it.
Roy
Neutral Special = Flare Blade
Side Special = Double-Edge Dance
Up Special = Blazer
Down Special = Counter
Forget Roy Koopa, the true Roy is back and it’s about time too! We last saw the flaming swordsman in Melee and he’s had quite the overhaul since then. Not only has his design been updated, he’s bigger, faster and stronger too, he’s the first member of the DK cre- wait a minute…
Thankfully Roy is no longer just a Marth clone. A lot of his hit boxes have been changed and he’s now heavier than Marth compared to being lighter in Melee. A few of his ground and aerial attacks have been changed up too and he hits like a train: a fully charged Flare Blade will one-hit-KO any character at 0% and only deals 10% to Roy as a trade-off. Now that’s power! Plus the sweet spot on his sword is at the base of the blade instead of the tip like Marth’s, which makes getting right up in your opponent’s face all the more fun.
His new moves, power and playstyle feel like the perfect combination of both Marth and Ike: it’s refreshing to play Roy and feel like he’s an entirely different character to Marth and Lucina. Blessed with stronger attacks, a brand new Final Smash and amazing kill potential, you’ll be chanting “Roy’s our boy” for hours on end when you master the red-hot hero.
Lucas
Neutral Special = PK Freeze
Side Special = PK Fire
Up Special = PK Thunder
Down Special = PSI Magnet
When I first saw Lucas in Brawl I instantly thought of him as a worse Ness, but after a while I noticed his good points and actually tried to main him for a little while. Thankfully in Smash 4 he’s been made even better… sort of.
Lucas has gained some buffs since his appearance in Brawl but he’s also been nerfed in places. He can no longer rack up the damage as effectively but to compensate his combo potential has been increased, particularly with his throws. As a result he’s more balanced and is a character who shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Lucas’s added combo potential combined with his amazing aerial game can make him a tough foe to deal with. His recovery is pretty decent too with a tether grab that now has a hitbox dealing 4% damage and can grab onto the stage from quite the distance away… so don’t worry if you can’t get those PK Thunders just right.
Costumes
The Collection #2 pack not only gave us the three fighters mentioned above but also other characters from various franchises, in the form of more customisable costumes for the Mii Fighters.
The list includes a headgear and outfit for Isabelle (Animal Crossing), MegaMan.EXE (MegaMan Battle Network), Zero (MegaMan X), the Inklings (Splatoon), Heihachi (Tekken), Akira (Virtua Fighter) and Jacky (Virtua Fighter).
Certain outfits are only available for certain classes, with Brawler getting Heihachi, Akira and Jacky, Gunner getting Isabelle (I don’t get it either), MegaMan.EXE and the Inklings, and Sword Fighter getting Zero. There’s also the Inkling Squid Hat from Splatoon for all classes.
The addition of Heihachi, Akira and Jacky’s costumes means there’s now three other fighting games represented in Smash Bros (including Street Fighter), which is a nice nod to the other franchises from Nintendo. However, I can’t help but feel that with the costumes being there, we’re not going to see the Inklings as fully fledged fighters in future DLC. Oh well… There’s always Smash 5 on the NX!
Stages
And it doesn’t stop there, with two new stages being added to the line-up: Dream Land 64 and Suzaku Castle. These are both great stages: Dream Land 64 is a timeless classic from the original Super Smash Bros and Suzaku Castle acts as Ryu’s home stage, based off his stage from Street Fighter II. Of course, both come with Omega versions and new stage music.
Should You Get it?
So is it all worth it? Personally speaking yes: it’s A LOT of content for the price especially with three new fighters added to the mix. Of course you can buy each individual item separately but you’ll save a lot if you get the complete pack. Although if you’re not a Mii Fighter kind of person and don’t care about the costumes, then you can just get the fighters and stages for £14.36 on one version of the game.
The real question you should be asking is whether or not it’s worth getting the whole pack for just the Wii U or paying a little more to get it on 3DS too. Getting the pack for just one version will cost £19.88 but for £26.68 you can get it for BOTH the Wii U and 3DS, which is 100% worth it if you still play the 3DS version. The only downside is that Ryu doesn’t do too well on the 3DS, as the circle pad makes it difficult to input those all-important original commands.